Running Free
by desintas
Summary: Sanji's been surviving as a lone wolf- untrusting, silent and cold. He's seen enough to believe he should suppress his dreams and hopes in order to live. But his world is changed when he meets a child and a crazy carefree group who outshines the darkness. Zombie Apocalypse AU
1. Taking care of then and now

Hi! This was written quite some time ago, but only now I've gotten to edit it and stuff. I guess it was meant to be a one-shot sort of thing but it kind of grew...

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Sanji crept along between the high rise buildings, swivelling his head. Up, left and right. Down. Side to side. It was a habit he picked up as soon as the apocalypse broke out.

Rule number one: don't trust anything.

Double check noises. Keep them in mind. Always look behind yourself. Up if there were tall surroundings.

Know where you're going. It was big city, not huge. The buildings weren't very tall, which was good, and they had flat rooftops, which was excellent, considering they could hold hidden goodies there.

Months ago, he never would have dreamed to be so uptight. The Sanji back then usually welcomed company and provided good hospitality and manners, especially the ladies. All those days back in the wide spacious kitchen and elegant dining rooms were like a dream.

Reality was so much harsher.

He'd never imagine he would see a side of humanity usually buried deep within.

Animal instincts.

The blood spurting from torn limbs and running down their chins as they bit into flesh. Live flesh.

No, it wasn't zombies who were the monsters here.

People.

Starving crazed people.

They reached for anything. Anyone. He managed to escape but the image of a human body being torn apart by numerous arms and bloodied teeth haunted his nights. He spent his days away from people. They were monsters.

Sanji didn't like to smile. He was polite, but the smile he kept plastering on his face has begun to wear thin. He turned down any attempt of small talk and preferred silence. What was there to talk about?

It was hard to sleep when alone, with no one to watch his back, but it was better that way. It was hard to distinguish zombie from human, not that people were that good anyway. Sanji had seen groups falling out. He knew people would probably consider it immoral to watch former friends kill each other but, it was suicide to try and step in-between.

Sanji had prided himself with the fact he was stylish but it was hard to maintain a sense of pride when the world turned so corrupt. He wished he could save ladies and children from danger. He wished he could give food to those starving children separated from their parents.

But it didn't matter.

What mattered was that you did 'it'. The quicker, the more efficient, the better. Preferably quiet, cutting off the source of voice before the scream could erupt.

Who got in the way? What weapons? He snorted.

All that mattered is that you survived.

Whether it be killing zombies or other... 'competitors'.

A groan resonated in the gloom. The blonde stopped, flipping a karambi into his palm before creeping forward. The zombie raised its head, crawling towards Sanji. Its legs were detached.

Oh, this would be easy.

A heavy foot on the neck of the zombie secured the head. He hesitated, debating between his options- a quick jab through the neck or a luxury he couldn't afford- kicking his opponents. An adoption on French kickboxing but he would only use his legs, as hands were precious to a chef.

Hesitating was dangerous. If you went into anything half-assed, you'd die.

He tucked the knife away.

Sanji hated using knives. He hated the fact every time he used them, he didn't feel a twinge he used to feel in his chest months ago. He hated that he rendered a chef's tool to a mere murdering device. Most of all, he hated that it was necessary. There was no point of upholding morals and beliefs in this world but he tried when he could. He raised his leg, bringing it smashing down onto the zombie's head, cracking the skull and squishing the brain between the sole and the ground.

Sanji sighed softly. He reached into a pocket and took out a fabric ball, rolling it between his fingers. Dust covered his thick fingers. It was also a habit he developed. He never anticipated that his hobbies would one day save his life.

Sanji took up parkour out of interest one day when he came across a bunch of hoodlums hoping to rob the restaurant. When he chased them, yelling threatening insults, he was surprised to find the group was actually quite nimble, being able to leap over fences and climb walls. They laughed as they ran, hollering about the man in the suit running after them.

Goddamn, he wore suits back then. Suits. Now, he wore whatever he came across that was good enough for running. He managed to come across a flat backpack and fashioned belts into knives and gun holsters.

Nevertheless, he did manage to catch them and offered them two options; either he hand them over to the police or they work at the restaurant and he keep quiet about it. Turns out the new platoon fit in well with the rest of the crude chefs. They offered to teach him the basics of what they did before. Parkour, or the more flashy version, free running. It wasn't hard and he picked up the techniques quickly enough, using his skills to take shortcuts when he ran late. The flow was easy to maintain and frankly, he could see why the group would try to get into trouble- it was exhilarating to be chased. He placed the chalk back in his pocket. It was just an extra for better grip.

Sanji heard another groan. He immediately slowed down, flipping out his peculiar knife. He was lucky to come across this, much as he disliked them. It fit in his palm well and was easy to use in small spaces. He sidled up the wall.

"I'm sorry, Chopper," a hoarse voice whispered. More shuffling noises. A man slumped against the wall, a curious pink hat slung low on his head.

What? Chopper? What's that? Sanji rubbed the handle of his knife, willing to wait this out. If there was another person, it could mean trouble. There was no answer. The man coughed. It sounded wet, like he drew up phlegm. Or blood. Slowly, Sanji poked his head out and walked forward. A young boy was unconscious, lying near the man. He was small and looked about twelve.

"Who are you?" The man raised his head slightly.

"Prince." At least in this world, Sanji came across so many people he would take a little pleasure in inventing fake names to go by. It was fun and recently he had a particular attachment to this name.

The man chuckled. "It's not the first I've seen a young one who's hardened up quickly. Rest assured this old geezer is not going to hurt you." Sanji looked at the man's face, taking in his bizarre white hair and kind eyes. The pink hat was definitely an oddity. It was sort of like a felt top hat with a white cross in the middle. Did he make that hat? Sanji kept silent, taking in the man's tattered clothes. "Look," the man continued. "I have a favour to ask. Please listen." Sanji gasped and stumbled back.

"You're..."

"I'm bitten. I know. I can feel it but I'm not going to die just yet." Sanji wiped his clammy free hand.

"I'll... listen."

"Thank you." The man bowed his head. "That kid over there. His name is Chopper. A little kid with a big heart." Sanji glanced at the little boy. He was cute. A tuff of brown hair and a feminine face. The man laughed, reduced into a hacking wheeze. "He's cute isn't he?" Sanji hummed assent. What was this man trying to point out? If it meant taking care of this kid...

"You want me to take him." He stated, feeling bile rise against his throat. He should take care of this little kid!

But how would he climb buildings and jump off them?

Chopper wouldn't last in this world.

He'd have to find food for two mouths.

Childish innocence would be destroyed.

He should. He should.

But it'd be harder to survive.

He didn't have time to contemplate. Sanji clenched his fists, gripping his knife.

"Aye." The man nodded. "You weren't the first to come across us and you wouldn't be the first to reject this either." Sanji shook his head doggedly. He would never be able to walk on with a clear conscience after choosing to leave a child to die.

"How old is he?"

"Fifteen. Small for his age but smart. Very clever. Already knows more about medicine than I do."

"Is he ok?"

"He is fine but hasn't had much to eat recently. He's scared of those things."

Another way to guilt trip Sanji. Hunger. He knew better than anyone else how it felt to be hungry.

"So he can walk and everything?"

"He's fine." Sanji rubbed his temples.

"Please." The man grabbed Sanji's leg. "Please take him. If you don't want him to go with you at least take him somewhere safe away from here. It's riddled with those things and they grow in number every day. I'm a goner but I don't want to drag him to death as well. He's a good kid. He wants to be a doctor." Sanji rested a firm hand on the man's shoulder.

There was no going back now.

He wasn't going to let this kid die. He'd take him. Maybe to a camp or something.

"I'll take him. I'll make sure he's safe. I swear it." He stared into the man's eyes. "I'll make sure he has enough to eat. He'll never starve again as long as I am here. I can't guarantee he'll won't be scared sometimes and ..."

"I know. Chopper has to grow up soon."

"I'm sorry. I don't have much to offer."

"It's more than enough." The man said, shaking his head. "Thank you." He coughed, doubling over and clasping his hand over his mouth to muffle the sound. The hat toppled down. "Leave now," he managed to wheeze, waving Sanji away. He wiped the blood on his pants and took the hat up. Sanji fished out rope from his backpack and crouched, slinging the boy's hands over his shoulders and tying them together. He also bound Chopper's feet together. It was definitely very awkward, hindering Sanji's ability to move but it was best he could do. It didn't look like the boy was waking up soon and even if he did, he'd be too weak to travel where Sanji wanted. He turned to walk.

"Wait." Sanji stopped, half turning to the dying man. He held out the pink hat. "Can you take this with you? It's been Chopper's favourite. He's always been bugging me for it." The blonde nodded, turning so that the hat could be placed inside his bag. He noticed the small gun in the man's hand. "Did you want my gun after?" the man asked, catching Sanji's stare. Sanji shook his head. Logically, he should take the gun and try to collect his weapons, but...

He should let people die with dignity, dammit!

"Lie to Chopper. I don't want him to come looking for me. Don't bother with a burial either. A man dies neither from an infectious bite, nor poison, not even bullet wounds. He dies when he is forgotten. Make sure Chopper isn't forgotten and make sure he doesn't feel responsible for me. I want him to live a better life then I did. He'll be a good doctor." Sanji nodded, and didn't turn back, just raising a hand in acknowledgment and farewell. He walked for a good few minutes.

He shuddered at the sound of the gun.


	2. Climbing

Sanji's shoulders began to ache soon after. It might be good to climb and see where he was.

"Hmm." Sanji twitched at the groan.

"Kid."

"What?" the kid murmured sleepily, groaning again. Sanji grit his teeth.

"Be quiet."

"What do you mean? Are those things-"

"Shush!" Sanji whispered harshly, heart pounding. It'd be better if he could find a good building to climb. If he was lucky then maybe there'd be something at the top. He walked in the alley, peering for the clear and spied a drain pipe that ran down the length of the building. Hopefully the flat roof of the building meant it was terraced, which would be a good resting place.

"Wait! You're not..."

"Shush!" Sanji snapped. "Questions can wait until we're at the top. I'm someone your old man trusts. Just hold on." He took a few paces back and ran, bursting up the wall and grasped the pipe firmly.

Rule number two: don't look down.

Looking down was particularly shitty. It was better to look across and to stay away from windows. Staying away from windows was difficult though, because ledges were always helpful. Having zombies blunder through windows to try their luck at your flesh was pretty fucking terrifying.

The kid was truly up and awake now. He could feel the tense breath on his neck. It didn't matter. If Chopper was quiet then it was all that mattered right now. Sanji heaved himself up, straddling the pole and walking up the wall with both feet. He glanced up. Left to right. Right to left. Up, diagonal. Corner. Clear? Yes. He continued to climb, placing one chalky hand on top of another. It was alright. The extra weight wasn't as bad as he thought it'd be.

The sound of gunfire caught his attention. Craning his head, Sanji tried to locate the source of the sound, and estimate how far it was away. The kid stiffened. There was really nothing Sanji could do now but reach the top and take a look around.

"Hang in there," he muttered. He quickened his pace, ignoring the burning of his arms and the ache of his shoulders. The climb wasn't very long, just taking a little over a minute to clear the several storeys, but the climb felt a lot heavier. Weight. Weight in lives. He jumped over and surveyed the area. It never hurt to recheck. He breathed a sigh of relief at the absence of the undead and as an added bonus there looked to be clothes scattered about the roof. Air conditioning units weren't much help, because the liquid inside was a chemical and its physical machinery didn't serve much use either. There were a few scattered chairs and tables in a dilapidated fashion of outdoor dining. "Ok," he muttered to the kid, "you can ask questions now."

"Where's Doctor Hiluluk?"

"Who?"

"Doctor Hiluluk. He has weird white hair and a really cool pink hat with a white cross on it!" Sanji huffed, a ghost of a smile touching his lips as he listened to the childish bubbly voice. Then it faded. How would he tell Chopper about the man? The man requested to lie to Chopper but that didn't feel right. The man obviously loved the little kid. He begged the passers-by for a chance of the kid's survival. A change of fate.

"Listen. I can't answer that just yet. We need to find a nice safe place first." Chopper groaned, mumbling into Sanji's neck. The gunshots came closer. They ran to the edge of the building, and peered over, spotting two figures blasting a group of zombies. Sanji's eye twitched and his heart thudded in his chest.

Suicide.

What were they doing? The noise would attract more zombies and soon, they'd be overwhelmed. It was flat land and had little cover. He ran along the edges of the building and like he predicted, previously unseen zombies were crawling through the alleyways, attention drawn to the ridiculously flashy wipe-out. He hesitated slightly. Should he help them? The more time he spend here meant the longer he was in danger but then he took on the responsibility of a fucking kid, so he might as well roll with this nice guy act. "Chopper, hold on for a bit." He grabbed the chairs and flung them over the edge, entangling the zombies below.

"Let me down."

"No."

"I can help!" Sanji rolled his eyes.

"How are you going to get down?"

"I can... climb too."

"No you can't, kiddo." Sanji grabbed a table to push over the edge.

"But... I'm awake now."

"You can't even walk."

"I'm not as weak as you think." Sanji froze mid grab. He turned his head to look at Chopper through his peripheral vision.

"You're overestimating yourself."

"Untie my hands and feet at least!"

"What if you slip off?"

"I won't!" The blonde sighed, pulling apart the ropes and the kid landed on the floor, slightly [horse legged] but he managed to stand up.

"Why are you chucking over tables and stuff?" he called after Sanji, who immediately resumed his task.

"I'm helping them. It's stopping the zombies for a bit and buying us time. If you want to be useful, chuck stuff over the other side." Chopper dragged the furniture, making Sanji's teeth set on edge at the noise. They made relatively quick work of the furniture and as a finishing touch, the blonde drew his knife and slashed the pipes connecting to the air conditioning units before pushing them over the edge.

"Hey Zoro!" He heard a voice call faintly. "There's someone else over there!" Sanji knelt before Chopper.

"Hang on and don't let go. I won't be able to catch you if you fall." Sanji slid down the pipe quickly, ignoring the increasing heat between his hands. He gasped, feeling a sharp stab in his palm and his body swung ominously, drawing a sharp yelp from Chopper. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." He cursed under his breath. They slid down further.

"There's zombies," Chopper whimpered.

"I know. As soon as we reach the ground, run. Ready?" Sanji waited, a few metres above the ground. "Go!" He dropped to the ground, grunting as the impact jolted his legs. "Run!" He grabbed Chopper's wrist and hauled him along as zombies lunged after them. The zombies were not fast, but soon to be faster than the kid. They'd be soon taken over. He grabbed the kid, chucking him over his shoulder as he ran, ignoring the sharp cries of protest. Free from the alleyway, they were greeted with a mass of zombies piled up on the road. Two figures rushed over to them, each holding weapons.

"So you made it out," a freckled man said, grinning. He slapped his guns back in their holsters. It sounded like the same voice that shouted before so the other dude, even more muscular than the freckled one, with green hair, for heaven's sake – who even had time to dye their hair in an apocalypse – must be 'Zoro'. He fought with swords, which was even weirder because what time period were they living in right now? The twenty first century. "We need to fucking run. It's not going to hold them back much longer. Do you want to come with us? There's a camp to go back to. Would be good for the kid." He gestured to the kid slung over Sanji's shoulder. Sanji nodded once. "Sweet. Let's run. Give that kid to Zoro." The green haired man snorted.

"I'm not a fucking pack horse."

"Shut up." Sanji tapped his foot.

"Let's just go," he started, glancing behind him. The freckled man reached over and took the kid, running. The blonde and green haired man glanced each other, laughing slightly at the confused cries of Chopper as they ran.


	3. The Camp

"What were you guys doing?" a redhead demanded, pulling up a ute in front of them. She frowned at them from her seat. "Hurry up!"

"We brought guests."

The woman jerked her thumb to the back. "Hop on and hang on tight." The freckled man jumped in the front and the rest clambered in the back.

"Chopper are you ok?" Sanji glanced over the kid.

"I'm... alright," Chopper wheezed, clutching his ribs. He frowned at them. "Don't carry me like that again! It hurts so much!" Sanji shook his head slightly at the whiny tone. "Now, you promised me you'd answer my questions. We're safe now, right?" Chopper looked over to Zoro. He glanced over, nodding before resuming his scan around the Ute. Sanji understood. It would be safe, as long as they kept a lookout around them. He moved over to sit in the middle of the Ute space and gestured for Chopper to sit next to him. Where should he start? He didn't feel like lying. It felt so wrong.

"Dr Hiluluk. He... was bitten." The kid's eyes welled up.

"It's my fault isn't it?" His lips trembled. "It's my fault! If only I didn't fall over when those things were going after us."

"No, it's not. He was happy with you," Sanji said. "I'm guessing before he met you, he must have felt forgotten. He told me to lie to you so you wouldn't look for him, but I don't think that's right. He doesn't want you to feel responsible ok? He loved you. He went his own way to a better place and he's not going to turn into a zombie either." Chopper's tears flowed steadily down his face and he opened his mouth to bawl. The green haired man pulled the crying boy into his arms and for a second, Sanji thought he was going to muffle the sounds and contemplated going against it but soon, he realised the man was hugging the boy, comforting him with murmured private words. Sanji sighed and moved out to sit near the edge of the Ute, pulling out chalk from his pockets. He flinched slightly at the pain on his palm. How could he have forgotten? A red ugly streak glared back from his pale skin as he inspected his hand. It wasn't that bad but things would've been so different back then if this happened to his hands. He'd shriek at Patty, goddamn that hearty bastard, just to provoke him and get in heated arguments with the rest of those shitty chefs, getting told off by the old head chef, Zeff and taking out his frustrations on any street punks who'd try their luck on robbing stores and intimidating ladies. Now, all he could do was... keep quiet. He unslung his backpack, taking out the small amount of supplies he had left. Water, a bit of food, the remains of a first aid kit, a spare shirt. It wasn't much but it was enough for a little while. He tried to clean his palm with the spare shirt and looked at the wound again, sighing. There was no use fussing over it. He rolled chalk in his other hand, printing finger marks on his pants and drawing swirls of white on his black pants. Occasionally, he glanced up and around the Ute, ensuring no stray zombie had come after them. It was quiet now.

"We're here," said Zoro, leaping off the back with Chopper still in his arms. Sanji blinked drowsily, sitting up to check his surroundings. It was a surprisingly well built high tech looking fort. High stone walls provided a good defence against the zombies and predators of the forest. There were several lookout towers. Even on the inside, there looked to be defence mechanisms, possibly traps in case of the defences being breached. This place looked solid. Impregnable. Sanji jumped off the Ute, following after the freckled man and the redhead lady. The freckled man waved.

"Sup. I suppose you want to stay a while? You can stay permanently, well, as long as you help out. It's up to you and the kid."

"We'll help you out as much as possible," the redhead woman beamed, "for a price." Ace frowned.

"Nami, no one has money these days."

"It's a habit. I'm Nami by the way." She smiled and stuck out her hand in greeting. Sanji glanced at the pair, before shaking her hand.

Rule three: don't trust anyone.

"We're not going to eat or rob you!" Nami laughed. "It's so rare that we come across kids, so today is a good day."

"Nami! Ace!" another voice called. "Who's that?" They turned to greet a young black haired man, bounding up to them and tackling them in a hug.

"A person who helped us out. There's also a kid."

"Cool!" He grinned broadly. Sanji shifted slightly. It was weird. These people were weird. Who would be happy about bringing outsiders in their camp? How could they be so carefree? "I'm Luffy!" The man introduced himself. Was he a man? He looked to be in a stage in-between an adult and a teen.

"Prince." He nodded.

"If you need to sleep, go over there," Luffy pointed vaguely over to some buildings, "and if you need to eat come with me to- ouch!" Nami lowered her clenched fist.

"I don't think so Luffy."

Luffy gulped. "Okay."

"If you need help for anything, just ask anyone. What would you like to do first?"

"Is there a doctor around? I'd like to see Chopper afterwards too."

"We don't really have a doctor," Nami answered, frowning. "Are you injured?"

"Not really." Sanji stuffed his hand in his pocket. "Just wondering if Chopper was ok." He shouldn't deplete supplies so needlessly about a cut to his hand. "He hasn't eaten for a few days, I think."

"Oh... well, I'm sure Zoro would take him to the cabins." Nami pointed to a double story building. "Second floor."

"Alright." He nodded curtly to the trio before heading off.

"Is he alright, Luffy?" Nami muttered.

"Yeah."

"He's not a bad person, but it feels like he's seen too much," Ace added. "He probably thinks we're fucking weirdos. It'll take a while before he's comfortable."

"I want him to stay!"

"You can't make him."

"But..." Ace sighed.

"I know. It's getting harder to get supplies now. This area is becoming empty. We need to move out soon, even if we had more people to help us."

"But Franky spent so much time building this place." Nami looked at the housing.

"Maybe we can take some of it with us, but sooner or later, we need to go."

"Alright."

"Hello?" Sanji knocked at the door before opening it slowly. He spotted Chopper being tucked into a hammock. The whole room was full of hammocks. Zoro glanced at him before resuming his task. Sanji poked half his body in. "Is he ok? I don't think he's eaten for a few days."

"He's tired. Once he wakes then he can eat." Zoro ruffled the sleeping boy's hair.

"Good," Sanji muttered.

"Are you going to sleep too? You were pretty crashed out in the ute." Sanji shook his head.

"I'm fine. Do you have any medical supplies?" Zoro nodded. "There's a storeroom. Take what you want. Downstairs."

"Thanks."

The storeroom was huge. It had everything neatly organised. Clothes, weapons and non-perishable foods. Sanji found an impromptu array of medical basics and took a cloth and alcohol. He sat on the ground and began working at cleaning and bandaging the cut.

Hands. Hands. Hands. Should he even be wasting supplies like this? He should. He shouldn't. Why? This place was fucking weird. Everything was too much. Sanji was tired. Tired of running away and living in fear. Tired of being exposed to such shitty horrible human actions. His hand stung and he rubbed furiously, moisture welling up in his eyes. He hated this.

"Hey." Sanji looked up Luffy standing at the doorway.

"What do you want?" he asked, voice wavering.

"Are your hands okay?" Luffy came in, crouching on the floor next to the blonde. Sanji capped the alcohol and stood up.

"I'm fine." It was such an overused phrase. An automatic reflex to every concerned question about himself. Luffy didn't move but watched Sanji with his dark eyes as the blonde made his way for the door.

"We don't have a proper doctor yet. Sorry about that. Your hands are precious to you right?" Sanji froze. His mind blanked. What? "You can use what you want here. There's no problem." Luffy straightened from his crouch. Sanji backed away. "It's fine."

It wasn't fine. How could some stranger straight up deduce Sanji's morals with one look? This was creepy. He shivered under Luffy's intense dark eyed stare. It was time to get out.

He stood up and pushed past Luffy, making for the cabins.

"Zoro I'm hungry," a drowsy voice startled Sanji as he sat tending to his palm. The kid stirred, sitting up and yelping as his arm went through the netting. He blinked.

"Oh it's you, mister."

"Just call me Sanji." Heck, he didn't know why he'd offer the kid his real name. Fuck it.

"Did something happen to your hand? Let me see." Chopper untangled himself and leapt off the hammock.

"It's not pretty." Sanji held his hand above Chopper's reach as the boy made swipes for it.

"I know!" Chopper cried. "But I know how to treat it. I haven't learnt everything though." Sanji relented, giving in his hand for inspection. "Where did you get this from?" Chopper scrutinised the streak.

"Climbing down a pipe."

"Looks like you cleaned it already. Doesn't look like you need stiches. Just keep it covered so it doesn't turn dirty."

"I know how to use bandages." Sanji withdrew his hand. Chopper pouted.

"Properly?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, so you can get to still use your hands normally." Sanji hesitated.

"Uh..."

"Let's go and find some!" Chopper pulled Sanji along.

"So it's like this way, and then you go under here," Chopper explained, wrapping the bandages around Sanji's thumb and palm. He finished off at the wrist and cut the material, humming in satisfaction.

"I see." Sanji lifted his hand and turned it, wringing his fingers and appreciating the freedom of movement.

"Now I'm hungry," Chopper groaned.

"Let's go eat then."

"You have a kitchen here?" Sanji gasped. Nami nodded, pausing from her task of chopping carrots.

"Franky refurnished it from this rundown one." She waved airily with her knife.

"Could I... help?"

Nami raised her eyebrows. "You can cook?"

"Yeah, but it's been a while." Although, Sanji doubted he'd be able to forget anything the old man drilled in his head and hands. "What are you making?"

"Something with this." Nami gestured to the carrots. "They're going to go bad soon and we have a load of them."

"Soup or a stew then. Then we can pickle all the leftovers." Sanji rolled up his sleeves.

"You know more than I do."

"Hey, after we're done eating, do you want to come with us?" Ace sat opposite the blonde, eating noisily. "This is really good."

"To where?" Sanji raised his head from his bowl.

"Outside." Ace licked his spoon clean before waving it vaguely in the air.

"For?"

"Anything you think is useful. We're going to leech as much as possible from this place before we leave."

"Ok."

"I want to come too!" Chopper piped up from next to Sanji. They looked at him.

"No," they answered simultaneously.

"But I want to collect plants for medicine."

"You know medicine, kid?"

"I'm not a kid!" Chopper pouted. "I'm fifteen!"

"Even if you were twenty five, you'd still be a baby." Ace rolled his eyes before grinning. "Look, if we find any medicine bottles we'll try to bring them back alright? But we're going exploring in buildings, not the forest."

"Let me come Sanji!" Chopper pleaded, clinging onto Sanji's arm. Well there goes his cover.

"I don't think so." Sanji untangled himself, feeling the hidden smirk on Ace's face. He focused back on the task at hand. Medicine was useful, but extremely troublesome to carry. They crinkled if kept in separate poppable sections or rattled inside bottles. Both dangerous. "Let's leave. We want to be back before it gets dark." Ace stood up abruptly. "Zoro! Luffy! Let's move!"


	4. Mission

Sanji was in the back with Zoro again, because Ace was driving, being the most capable with the area and Luffy decided to shotgun seat because he felt like it. They bumped along with the Ute in silence. Sanji fingered the weapons he picked out from the storage. A pair of pistols, like Ace, and a climbing pick. They were all required to bring a multi-tool thing and a survival knife. He also found knee pads in there, which pleasantly surprised him. He kept the small backpack but also added extra exterior pockets that attached to a belt, which was unnecessary in the face of pants, but he wanted important things in easy reach. Zoro had a sword with him, one in a white sheath and like Sanji, also had the knife and the multi tool. The Ute stopped and the black haired pair got out.

"We're here. Just going to try those two buildings there." Ace pointed to two multi storey buildings. They were an old style, sort of European with framed windows and tiled roofs. The one on the left looked like mansion, or fancy shopping mall. It was surrounded by a towering marble wall with statues on each corner. "Let's not split up. Zombies are infested in here and I'm not sure about the numbers." They walked, keeping a lookout for each other's backs. They stopped at the base of a wall.

"Luffy, go first." Luffy began scaling the wall, while Sanji watched with slight disbelief. It was going to take forever.

"I'll go help him." He broke the circle and took a few steps back from the wall, estimating its height before bursting into a run. He took a few steps up the wall and flung his arms up, grappling the top before heaving himself, twisting and straddling the wall.

"So cool!" Luffy whispered below him. Ace looked mildly impressed.

"You bastard. You know parkour? You so have to teach me." Sanji hauled Luffy up, ignoring the comments.

"So, when you jump down, do you roll? I want to see it!" Luffy's eyes sparkled.

"Shut up idiot. Just wait till we're here too." Ace huffed, hauling his body over.

"Go! Go!" Luffy grinned. Sanji shrugged mentally. Heck, the ground looked clear. Might as well. He jumped, landing on his feet and dropping to his hips before rolling on his shoulder. He looked back and saw Ace muffling Luffy's cheers. He kept a lookout as they climbed down.

"Alright, we'll take apart the door."

"We are not unscrewing the fucking hinges."

"But it's fun Zoro." Ace whipped out his multi tool, grinning.

"I'm wasting my life here. Why don't we bust in, grab what we want and head out?"

"Because Sanji is the only one here who can do that." Sanji remembered why he didn't like company. They always bickered, having ideas they deemed better than others. It was unnecessary and caused noise. Zoro fell silent as Ace wedged his knife in the door jam, sliding it up and down to cut through the hinges. Sanji narrowed his eyes, straining his senses to detect any trace of danger.

Thump. The door shuddered as Ace drew away.

"Well fuck. Zoro, take it away." Zoro unsheathed his sword, cleaving the door in half with whoever was behind it.

"How did you know it was a zombie?" And not a person?

"They didn't say anything," Ace muttered as they stepped into the dim building. "Two blind spots." They crept in pairs, circling around the blind spots until it came into clear view. There was a zombie wedged under a desk, which Zoro disposed of by a clean stab to the neck.

But other than that, the ground floor was clear. Sanji had to admire the ruthless efficiency in this group. They explored the room quickly, emptying out drawers. There wasn't much. They trailed up the stairs.

"There's more. Maybe three." Luffy muttered as they rounded the corner. They stopped, straining for any noises. Sanji detected a faint rustle.

"How can you tell?"

"Gut feeling." Sanji shook his head. How do you gut feel for zombies?

"I think one's near the top of the stairs."

"Didn't we just clear it out yesterday?" Zoro growled.

"I don't like the look of this. We already cleared up around five levels before we came across a shitload in there. There might have been something sweet on the fifth floor but I couldn't tell."

"What are you willing to bet?" Sanji interjected. There must be some point to this scavenging.

"Medicine and books."

"Let's pick between this one and the other for today," Zoro said.

"I think... this one because we have a doctor, well a sort of doctor, but he can do more stuff than we could."

"But he's young. What could he know and not know?" Zoro questioned. Ace faltered.

"I don't know but I'm willing to risk it."

"Let's go then," Luffy prompted. "Kill them all."

* * *

"So if that zombie falls down the stairs, Zoro, stick that thing with your sword, preferably kill it. Sanji, finish it off if it's not dead. Back down then wait for the rest." They all nodded to Ace's plan. They heard a moan. Then irregular footsteps as the monster dragged its feet across the floor. Zoro held his sword in front, steady. In a tangle of rotting flesh and dislocated limbs, the zombie tumbled down the stairs, straight into Zoro's blade, spearing it in the chest. Sanji stepped in to finish it off but Zoro jerked his sword up, slicing the zombie clean in half. Blood spilled onto the stairs.

"Move!" Ace whispered hastily for them to retreat.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

It sounded a lot more than three. "Clear out." Ace drew a heavy dagger as they spread out in a circle surrounding the base of the stairs.

All hell broke loose.

There was too many bodies in too little space. Sanji backed out near the exit, holding up his knife up. This was suicide. Luffy rolling with a zombie, punching it as they tumbled around the floor, which was beyond Sanji when they all held knives. Zoro had just dispatched a pair with a single slash, slicing through the decaying bones and flesh. Ace decapitated one with his dagger, kicking aside the body before pouncing on Luffy's zombie, stabbing it through the neck. He cuffed Luffy across the ear.

"That was stupid." Luffy rubbed his injured area.

"But I'm okay!" Sanji frowned. How did they get through without anyone getting bitten? This group was just purely lucky because that was pretty damn stupid to get in a tousling fight with zombies. Luffy and Ace were still bickering when Sanji saw the swordsman twitch. Zoro steadied his bloody sword, facing the base of the stairs.

"Shut up." Ace and Luffy paused, turning their heads to Zoro, and shut their gaping mouths. "This is going to take forever. I suggest curly brow just climb to floor five, raid everything and get out."

Curly brow?

"That's suicide Zoro," Ace said. "No one would be able to take on zombies in a small space like that.

"We're going to need a quick exit."

"Just let me check outside for a second." Sanji strode out the door and scanned the sides of the building. The marble wall was around five metres away from the edge of the building, an easy jump to make and if he combined the approximate width of the wall, width enough to easily straddle, it'd be possible to jump out from a window, land on wall and escape.

"What did you do?"

"We can escape if we jump out a window and land on the wall. Then we can escape." Sanji paused as the unanswered question hung in the air. Could they do it?

"Yep," Luffy grinned. Zoro nodded.

"This is a parkour crash course!" Ace rubbed his hands. "Awesome!" They were all crazy. Or had guts. It'd definitely a first that a group of people would all agree to jump off a building to land on the wall without training beforehand.

"Let's go." Ace crept up the stairs. The second floor was something of a library, with rows of bookshelves in a maze, leaving plenty of sharp corners and blind spots. Sanji crouched, peering around the corner.

"Let's go!" a voice yelled, startling Sanji. He shuddered. Zoro snickered. Luffy ran through past Sanji, cheering.

Wait a second.

"Luffy!" Ace shouted, coming after the urchin.

Groans arose and the blonde's heart thudded with the quick intake of breath. Adrenaline rushed through his veins. He drew a gun in his left hand and a knife in his right, running after the pair. Gunshots sounded, accompanied by yelling.

The first fight scene.

"No," he breathed. This was a massacre. A beautifully efficient massacre. The bodies of around ten zombies lay on the floor. Bloodied footprints led the way and he followed, keeping his ears strained for any zombie escapees but the pair seem to have done the job.

"Keep moving." Sanji jumped at the voice that growled in his ear. The voice snickered again. He turned his head to see the blasted swordsman standing relaxed, cocking his sword on his shoulder. He flipped the man off before striding ahead.

* * *

"Ugh Luffy, why did you have to run ahead like that?" Ace wiped blood from his cheek as he straightened up. This was probably already the fourth floor and something of a luxurious bedroom, well, minus all the blood and guts and dead bodies scattered all over the place.

"You didn't need to come." Luffy rolled his shoulder, deadpanning. "I could've handled this by myself."

"Liar!" Ace pounded Luffy's head sharply. "You'll get killed!" Luffy stuck out his tongue before running ahead once again. "Get back here!"

* * *

"Hey." Zoro stopped. Ragged breathing whistled from behind the bookstand. He poked his head around the corner. "Oh- fuck!" He drew up his sword in the nick of time, pushing against the zombie's heavy weight. It'd been a while since Sanji came across any fat zombies before. He disliked them. They were messy to kill from the influx of gas in their stomach, which usually meant they exploded. Sanji stepped in by reflex, pivoting and slamming the neck of the zombie with his heel, snapping its neck and partially dislodging the head. It stumbled as Zoro pushed it back. The head dangled from bloody veins and arteries. An eyeball bungee jumped from the eye socket.

"Don't cut it through the stomach," Sanji cautioned. It'd really been a while since he used kicking. He tried to ingrain using knives and guns first but his feet always moved first when he wasn't thinking. Zoro severed the strands, kicking other body aside before pressing on. The smell of putrid flesh filled the air. The body began to sizzle.

"Run!" Sanji shouted, gagging in the gas. "Run! It's going to explode!" Eyes streaming, he clung on Zoro's wrist and dragged them to the stairs before the zombie detonated.

The explosion shook the house.

* * *

Luffy stumbled. Ace cursed as they felt the rumble through the floor.

"I hope they're ok."

"They will be." Lufffy nodded, crushing the skull of a zombie.

* * *

Sanji heaved, wiping his eyes. Fuck, that was close. He straightened up and turned to check on his partner.

"Hey are you-" He stopped. Blinking for a few seconds, unable to comprehend the situation before him.

No. Fucking. Way.

He saved a fucking zombie?! So he grabbed a zombie by the fucking hand and dragged it up the stairs?

Where the fuck was Zoro?

That was definitely a first. Well, luckily, the zombie was one of those scrawny poles that didn't have the strength to do shit. It shuddered and groaned, collapsing on its own flimsy legs. Sanji hesitated. He should kill it, just in case.

"What are you waiting for?" A slash decapitated the zombie. Zoro huffed. "Where the hell did you go?"

"I grabbed a fucking zombie." Zoro snorted his laughter.

"Did you hold hands?"

"I'm surprised you didn't get killed."

"You're the one who went on a date with a zombie." They bickered, only with their mouths.

"Idiot marimo."

"Marimo?"

"It's a green algae ball. Like your hair. Is your head full of kelp?"

"Dumbass Prince."

Shoving could come later.

* * *

"Hey Luffy, this is it!" Ace pulled open drawers, scanning the documents quickly before stuffing them in his bag. They looked medical enough so maybe Chopper would make more sense of it. "Aw sweet!" More pills. Hell, he might as well cram as much as he could. Luffy emptied out more contents into his bag.

The building shuddered. The floor tilted.

"The explosion!" Ace gasped. The building was going to give way. "Sanji! Zoro!" he yelled. "Hurry up!" Sanji and Zoro emerged from the stairs, heavily cursing from the steep angle of the floor. Sanji ran around the perimeter of the room, seeking an appropriate window to jump from. This one. It looked like a pipe ran down the length of the house.

"Slide down then jump onto the wall." It should be doable.

"Ten more seconds," Zoro called, slicing apart the window Sanji stopped at. The blonde peered down, grunting in satisfaction at the confirmation. He joined Ace and Luffy briefly, swapping his empty bag with theirs. "Let's go." Zoro pulled Luffy, who was protesting violently. Sanji lingered, stuffing in more medicine while Zoro relayed instructions. Luffy went first, sliding down the pipe and fast disappearing out of sight. Then it was Ace. The building screamed, and the other half of the floor caved in, crashing into the depths below.

"Hurry up!" Zoro called, head slipping past the window. Sanji waved him off. He zipped the backpack shut and slung it on, crossing the floor. The floor slanted further, threatening to tip Sanji into the gaping hole. He looked down, judging how far the three were down. It looked like Luffy made it to the wall and Ace was pretty close. Zoro was pretty fast so a few more seconds couldn't hurt. The floor dropped half a metre, teetering for a few seconds. Sanji knew what was going to come. This mansion was a goner.

He jumped.

The wall came up to him in slow motion. He saw the trios' face morph from shock to apprehension as he fell through the air. The wall was too far. He wouldn't make it.

Time for Plan B. Sanji stretched out his arms, body slamming into the wall as he grappled for a secure hold, bruising his chest and knees. A multitude of hands gripped his wrists and hauled him over. That was close.

"We have to get down. Ready?" Luffy asked. Sanji nodded, winded. They dropped to the ground, rolling with an almost perfect imitation of Sanji's demonstration earlier.

These guys were freaks.

"Let's hurry," Ace called as they ran to the Ute, clambering in. He gunned the vehicle and they made a break for it, speeding away from the collapsing building. Clouds of dust and debris billowed out from it, threatening to suffocate the four.

"That was so cool!" Luffy hollered, poking his head out from the car window.

"No it wasn't," Sanji muttered, wringing his stinging hands.

"It was," Ace admitted. "It was like one of those movie scenes where everything goes in slow motion when the hero is like falling after an explosion. Anyway," he added, riding over Zoro's snort, "We got what we came for. Mission accomplished."


	5. Living

"You're hurt." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Sanji glared at the green haired man.

"I'm fine."

"You will see Chopper."

"Don't tell me what to do." Zoro narrowed his eyes, before moving in with startling swiftness and knocking Sanji to the floor, pinning him down and lifting up the blonde's shirt. Red and blue welts marked his skin. Zoro prodded the bruises firmly.

"What are you do-" Sanji clenched his jaw as a wave of agony pounded his senses.

"Nothing seems to be broken." Zoro got off Sanji, and smoothly lifted him, on a delivery service to Chopper.

* * *

"Hey Sanji, just let me strap these onto your shins." Franky approached with little black devices. Sanji hesitated, in a half rise from the hammock

"Why?"

"Because I want to test out the speed of your kicks for these super weapons I'm going to put." Without waiting for Sanij's approval, he snapped on the devices to Sanji's lower shin, just above the ankle. They were small and weighed close to nothing. The blonde shrugged. It wouldn't impede him. If they were tracking devices, it'd be easy to rip off and discard. Sanji fell back into an exhausted slumber, wincing slightly. There wasn't going to be much to do until he recovered enough for Chopper to let him out.

* * *

"Sanji!" Luffy called, waving from on top of Franky's shoulder.

"Hey Sanji, I just finished these babies last night. It took me several weeks to make these but you gave me more than enough data. Want to check 'em out?" Franky held up a pair of shoes. Sanji's taste. They were suit shoes, pretty high quality from the looks of it, with hard durable leather. Sanji hesitated.

"Uh..."

"No!" Chopper popped out of nowhere, glaring. "Give it another week till Sanji can do that!"

"But he's superhuman Chopper. He jumped off a huge building!" Luffy enthused. "Franky is really excited about these new weapons!"

"Weapons?" Chopper started, and Sanji saw the twinkle in his eyes.

"Yeah! Sanji try them out!"

"Yeah, super Franky approved weapons just waiting to bust out! Give 'em a test run bro!" Sanji couldn't see anything special about these shoes. Maybe he should just play along. He took the shoes and donned them, lacing them tight. Luffy cheered, drawing attention to Sanji when others poked their heads in his direction. Nami joined.

"Just pull off a few killer kicks and watch what'll happen!" Sanji lifted his leg, sceptical of whatever "super weapon" was going to pop out of his shoes. "Come on! No need to be shy!" Sanji kicked, lifting his leg up to kill an imaginary zombie in the neck. A blade shot out underneath the shoe, arming his shoe. It slid back in some unknown compartment. "Cool," Franky muttered, ticking off his first finger. "Alright, throw a kick where you slam your heel in first." He dragged Sanji over to a pile of wood and gestured. Sanji lifted his leg and brought it down, and a knife protruded from his heel, slicing the block clean in half when his foot came in contact with it. "Sweet. You use mainly the point of the toe and the heel but there's one more I added just for fun. Stomp on this." Franky dumped a block of wood on the ground. Sanji rose his foot slightly before crushing it into the wood. It snapped into two. He caught a glimpse of spiky metal before it disappeared into the sole again. Franky grinned. "Everything works. Super! Now, you can use those for killing whatever zombies come in your way." He slapped Sanji's back, sending him stumbling before going off on his way.

* * *

"Hey Zoro, Sanji, Luffy. We're going hunting again." Ace emerged from the storeroom.

"Okay!" Luffy whisked away a few weapons from Ace's grasp and strapped them on himself. Sanji checked the blade of his knife.

"Give me the knife." Zoro held his hand open.

"No."

Zoro grabbed Sanji's fist, prying Sanji's fingers open and wrenching the knife from his hand.

"You'll never have to hold a knife again. Even if it means alerting zombies fucking ten million kilometres away, you will never have to use them. You can shoot as much you want and with Franky's inventions you can finally put those shitty kicking skills to use." Sanji tried to jerk his hand out of the grasp but to no avail. Zoro was stronger than him in the top half. "What's wrong?"

"Let go," Sanji gasped.

"No. You're scared. You've been running away from yourself for a long time. You move your legs first before any other body part and yet you try to use knives and guns. Ridiculous."

"Let go!"

"Hey Zoro, do you need help?" Luffy strapped on his knife. Zoro shook his head but Luffy barged in anyway.

"We all have dreams, Sanji! I want to go exploring everywhere, zombies or no zombies. I want to be the freest man on earth. Zoro wants to be the world's greatest swordsman. Nami wants to find all those unknown places 'cause the world's different now. You can ask for the other's dreams." He leaned in close to Sanji, grinning. "What's your dream?"

"I don't have one."

Luffy frowned. "You do."

"Let go! For fuck's sake, Zoro! Leave me alone! What do you know about dreams? How can you be so optimistic in a world like this? Haven't you seen what happened? People die! They're fragile! They're too busy worrying how to live than worry about dreams and stupid crap like that!" His chest heaved from his yelling. He stood defiant. His blue eyes battled against Zoro's silver and Luffy's black eyes. Silence expanded between them. At last Luffy spoke.

"People worry about surviving so much, that they forget how to live."


	6. Blue Dreams

Thank you very much for reading this! I hope you enjoyed this story. Here's the last chapter :)

Feel free to drop a review!

* * *

That statement went with Sanji to bed that night. What did it mean to survive? What was living? What was the difference between them? More importantly, was he surviving or living? Was it important? What dreams did he have? Who was he?

Dreams? It sounded like something to say to a primary school kid. What did Sanji want to do? What did he love? Sanji remembered the first time he went out of town, up the road with his old man, and they went to the markets together. It was simple, but the market was so big. People were yelling, glossy fruits and big fish were slung up for customers. It was a nice day, with blue skies and a strong sun.

Sanji wanted to explore. To find the different palettes of life. The different colours, the sounds, smells and sights.

He... wanted to sail. He wanted to be surrounded by the unrelenting sun, the misty air and spend his days hauling ropes and having the wind whistle in his ears and ruffle his hair. Sanji fell in love with the ocean when his old man took him out, just the two of them, on his old boat, spending a week visiting all the places his old man loved. Each place had different colours, flavours but the all surrounded by the same smell: salt. He grew to respect the ocean, its vastness, anger and harshness. Travelling on land was fun, but rumbling along a dusty road never held the same grace as a ship cutting through choppy waves. He sighed.

Sanji remembered the emotions of the sea, the twinkling of the sunlight fairies as they danced on the waves, and the opposite, the roaring grey lion that toyed and clawed the ship, batting it to and fro.

"All Blue," he whispered in the dark, digging up the name he'd given to the water. All the blueness of the world. There were no silly names for an ocean. No one owned it. The ocean was the same- a continuous mass of swirling water. You would be connected with your loved ones on the other side of the world and all the ones buried at sea. It was how sailors took comfort in the face of loneliness on long journeys. Sanji's old man taught him that. Every time they went out on their adventures, he'd tell a little more about the sailors, how they lived, their life on the ocean and the stories they'd tell. Each time Sanji would listen with excitement and beg for more. The stories would get longer and soon they were up talking for most of the night, just laughing and chattering. Just the two of them. It was one of the happiest memories of his life.

And Sanji that thrown that all away.

He threw it away when he thought it'd be easier for survival. He threw it away when he saw his old man being ripped apart by monsters. He threw away his dreams and emotions, thinking it'd be beneficial in a world like this.

It was necessary, was what he told himself, every time he'd decline a group's offer to join them, every time when he woke and before he went to get a few snatches of sleep. Every time he found it easier and easier to not smile, not to bother with company, to give himself fake names and reply with succinct cold answers. It was a mantra he'd tell himself every day.

He was killing himself long before any zombie would. His heart ached. He balled his fists and squeezed his eyes shut.

All Blue.

All Bue.

All Blue.

He'd never forget it again.

It'd be his dream, dug up from old memories. It'd be his new mantra, his longing to set sail in the vast blue and be free.

Sanji fell into a deep sleep, eager to tell Luffy of what he found in the morning.

But little did he know, they had all heard him say "All Blue."


End file.
